The results of Arvada's city council elections held yesterday confirm that the municipality is firmly stuck back in the 1990s.
I am not surprise one wit by the outcome ... totally predictable.
The "new" city council membership will look almost exactly like it did in 1995 (four of the members). Philosophically it is exactly the same as it was over a decade ago, in the last century: sprawl at all costs.
The pro-development, cancer cell ideology establishment in the Arvada real estate, social and government circles operates as a traditional political machine; it picks and grooms candidates; it weeds out dissenters; it rewards loyalists; it raises big money for the chosen; and it always tries to crush independent thinkers and/or activists.
Mayor Bob Frie, Bob Dyer, Shelley Cook, Don Allard, Mark Williams ... five out of the seven members were on the council a decade ago. Rachel Zenzinger is a clone of Cook (both former Frie campaign managers) and old Mark McGoff votes with the others just about 100 percent of the time, too.
Look for further tax ballot measures soon; look for more traffic congestion since the agenda is solely devoted to promoting the tollway; and look for more micro-management of small business development in Arvada from this very old "new" council.
The vast majority of folks who live in this city, who are my neighbors, are great people ... Arvada small retail and service business owners and operators are courteous and considerate. But unfortunately, we get an elected government that is far below what the people of Arvada deserve. Perhaps someday the Arvada political machine will be busted up and our city council will be as good as Arvada's people. But that time has clearly not yet arrived.
Arvada City 2009 Election Results
District 1
Rachel Zenzinger
2,596
53.6%
A.J. Spano
1,600
33.0%
Robert C. Wolf
640
13.2%
District 3
Shelley Cook
2,935
68.8%
Bob Fifer
1,328
31.1%
At Large
Don Allard
9,384
50.5%
Aaron Azari
9,184
49.4%